Sustainable innovation - Women, Design and Materials

Innovazione sostenibile
Sustainable Innovation
Women, Design, Materials
Alessio Cuccu
MS Materials Engineering
Innovation & Sustainability Consultant

2
Organizing Innovation
Una proposta di framework operativo
WELCOME!

3
"CURIOSO A TEMPO INDETERMINATO,
PORTATORE SANO DI GENTILEZZA"
_________________
Full-time curious,
natural carrier of kindness
Alessio Cuccu
Chief Kindness Officer

Tre fasi professionali
Main professional moments
Materials & Innovation Design & Sustainability KindInnovation & Sustainability

INNOVATION
Strategy & Product
Business model
Lean Startup
Agile & Scrum
SUSTAINABILITY & MATERIALS
Materials selection
Eco-Audit
Life Cycle Assesment
Circular Economy
5
DESIGN & CREATIVITY
Foresight & Scenario Planning
Lateral Thinking
Design Thinking
Circular Design
Tre competenze principali
Three main skills

PASSIONI
Scegli tra le tante passioni personali
quelle poche che ti accompagnano nell'innovazione
PASSIONS
Choose which ones of your personal passions
show the secret power to nudge innovation

Uno storico problema matematico risolto all'uncinetto
Croqueting to solve an age-old math problem
DAINA TAMINA - Mathematician
TEDx Riga - Croqueting adventures with hyperbolic planes
Suggested reading/lettura consigliata

"Think as carefully about what
information you feed your mind as you
do about the food you feed your body"
Rutger Bregman - Humankind
Suggested readings/letture consigliate
Recensione
https://www.exlibris20.it/range-di-david-epstein/
“we also need more Rogers: people who started
broad and embrace diverse experiences and
perspectives while they progress.
People with range.”
David Epstein - Range

PASSION n.1
No-Fiction books reader
PASSION n.2
Amateur Photography
PASSION n.3
Architecture & Contemporary Art
Art byBruce Nauman
@Tate ModernLondon
Photo. Alessio Cuccu
PhotographyCenter
@V&A London
notestostrangers
@London
Tre passioni compagne di innovazione
Three passions nudging innovation

MACRO
&
PANORAMA
Use both to understand the context and to spot the details
Usali entrambi per comprendere il contesto e riconoscere i dettagli

WHAT DO YOU SEE HERE?
COSA VEDI QUI?

12
Zoom Out
(new details/nuovi dettagli)

13
Panorama
(context/contesto)

OUT of FOCUS
&
ON FOCUS
Use both to see the same thing with differenteyes
Usali entrambi per osservarelo stessosoggetto con occhi diversi

Review/recensione
https://www.exlibris20.it/pensieri-lenti-e-veloci/
POSITIVE
&
NEGATIVE
Use both to see the unseeable and to identify relevanthidden infos
Usali entrambi per vedere l'invisibilee trovare informazioni nascoste

“Gentlemen, you need to add armor-plate where the holes aren’t, because that’s where
the holes were on the airplanes that didn’t return”
Abraham Wald – Mathematician/Matematico – 1902-1950
POSITIVE/POSITIVO
Actual damages visible on airplanes able to return to the base
Danni subiti dagli aerei di ritorno alla base
NEGATIVE/NEGATIVO
Damages imagined on airplanes unable to return to the base
Danniimmaginati sugli aereicolpiti e incapacidi rientrare alla base

BLACK and WHITE
&
COLOURS
Use both to see the unseeable and to identify relevanthidden infos
Usali entrambi per vedere l'invisibilee trovare informazioni nascoste

BLACK WHITE
Photo. AlessioCuccu

BLACK
and
WHITE

"Critical thinking could start from small
acts. For example from color, also. Maybe, by
teaching kids how you can create green by
mixing together yellow and blue. It is possible. It
is fascinating and actually surprising. It is one of
the big step in the human history. But, it is not
the only way to get green. It is not the truth.
"Il pensiero critico può iniziare da fatti
piccolissimi. Anche dal colore. Magari insegnando
ai bambini che il verde si può fare mischiando il
blu col giallo. Si può. Funziona. E' affascinante e
stupefacente. E' una delle grandi conquiste della
storia umana. Ma non è l'unico modo di fare il
verde. Non è la verità."
SOURCE:: CROMORAMA
CRITICAL THINKING

SOURCE: https://criticalalphabet.com/
DESIGNER's CRITICAL ALPHABET
PRIVILEGE, BIAS & more
SOURCE: https://carolinecriadoperez.com/book/invisible-women/

INNOVATION
Can we define it?
INNOVAZIONE
Possiamo definirla?

SOURCE: https://www.ideatovalue.com/inno/nickskillicorn/2016/03/innovation-15-experts-share-innovation-definition/

“L’INNOVAZIONE è una
DISOBBEDIENZA andata a buon fine”.
Roberto Battaglia, 21 Ottobre 2010
’Auditorium Parco della Musica' a Roma
“INNOVATION is a successful DISOBEDIENCE”.
Innovation: favorite definition - n.1

SOURCE: YouTube – Mercedes Benz & Mercedes Benz USA

WILD
and
UNRULY
The rules of the game are known and respected
but you look for
TOOLS, METHODS, REFERENCES and PEOPLE
to overcome (without broken) them
to move for the better, to change
DISOBBEDIENT*
e
INDISCIPLINAT*
Si conosconono le regoledel gioco e le si rispetta
ma si va alla ricerca di
STRUMENTI, METODI, ESEMPI e PERSONE
per superarle (senza infrangerle),
per migliorare, per cambiare

The computer girls (1967 issue of Cosmopolitan)
SOURCE::https://timeline.com/w omen-pioneered-computer-
programming-then-men-took-their-industry-over-c2959b822523
Coco Chanel 1921
Ann Richardson - 1967
SOURCE: https://invention.si.edu/inspiring-inventor-stephanie-kwolek-1923-2014
Stephanie Kwolek – Kevlar
#Womenomics

Aina Wifalk 1928 – 1983
Walker-Rollator: 1978
SOURCE:www.iva.se
Review/recensione
https://www.exlibris20.it/mary-ann-sieghart-caroline-criado-perez-
katrine-marcal/

Alec Ross, 6 Novembre 2020
intervista pubblicata su millionaire.it
“L’INNOVAZIONE nasce quando
l'IMMAGINAZIONE incontra l'azione".
“INNOVATION happens as soon as IMAGINATION meets action".
Innovation: favorite definition - n.2

SOURCE: John Maeda
TIME – VALUE - COST
Summary/Sommario
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/simplicit
y-20-rules-from-past-alessio-cuccu//

IMAGINATION – TIME STOPS

SOURCE: https://targetitalianideas.com/2015/01/27/moon-boot-lo-stivale-lunare/
IMAGINATION – TIME STOPS – HI VALUE
"I have a dream"

SOURCE: https://shoezeum.com/
IMAGINATION – TIME STOPS – HI VALUE
"The Moon shoe" "The hand-cobbled footwear quickly picked up the
nickname "Moon Shoe" because the waffle-marked
footprints they left in the dirt were reminiscent of those
being left on the moon around that same time by the
Apollo astronauts"
"Alle calzature realizzate a mano è stato rapidamente
associato il soprannome di "Moon Shoe" perché le
impronte che lasciavano nel terreno ricordavano quelle
lasciate dagli astronauti dell'Apollo sulla luna"

SOURCE: :https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a21841/nike-waffle-iron/
SOURCE: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/262897696973164755/
"It Came From the Kitchen"
IMAGINATION - TIME STOPS – HIGH VALUE
"The breakfastepiphany"

DESIGN
Can we define it?
DESIGN
Possiamo definirlo?

photoby.AlessioCuccu
photoby.AlessioCuccu photoby.AlessioCuccu
CREATIVITY – SLOWER THINKING

CREATIVITY – SLOWER THINKING

INVENZIONE
DESIGN
CREATIVITY – PROBLEM SOLVING - SLOWER THINKING

DESIGN
THINKING

SOURCE: "Lean Startup" by Eric Ries, source
THE LEAST AMOUNT OF WORK
NEEDED TO LEARN THE MAXIMUM
AMOUNT OF INFORMATION USEFUL TO
VALIDATE OR CONTRADICT
THE LEAP-OF-FAITH ASSUMPTIONS
MinimumViableProduct

MFP
MINIMUM FEASIBLE PROTOTYPE
MDP
MINIMUM DESIRABLE PRODUCT
MVP
MINIMUM VIABLE PROTOTPYPE
SOURCE: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-way-design-thinking-alessio-cuccu/

TECNOLOGO
UMANISTA
SOURCE : John Maeda

"AI vs IA. That is: AI / Autonomous (no humans) Intellige
nce versus IA / Intelligence Augmented (improved
human performance."
From "Excellence Now: Extreme Humism" by Tom Peters
SOURCE: https://analyticsindiamag.com/leading-journal-nature-applauds-deepminds-alphafold-
announces-method-of-the-year/
Suggested reading/letture consigliata

SOURCE: https://www.ideo.com/blog/the-rules-of-brainstorming-change-when-ai-gets-involved-heres-how
Suggested reading/letture consigliata

THE DARK SIDE OF DESIGN
SOURCE: https://tumblr.austinkleon.com/post/63489760418

DESIGNED by MEN for MEN
SOURCE: https://carolinecriadoperez.com/book/invisible-women/

TAKE YOUR TIME.

CATASTROPHE AND SYSTEMIC CHANGE
"Senior executives, boards and regulators can fall
into the trap of wantingto hear only good news.
Of not welcomingstories of deviance and non-
compliance. This needs to be activelyresisted and
guardedagainst. Good news reportshould be
rigorously examinedandquestioned. Bad news
should be welcomed. We need to learn to
'question the good news and embrace the bad'.""
Gill Kernick
"Dirigenti, consigli di amministrazionee autorità di
regolamentazione possonocadere nella trappola di
voler sentiresolo buone notizie.
O di non accogliere deviazioni dagli standard e non
conformità. Questo deve essere attivamente
contrastato, guardandosi bene dall'accettarlo.
Le buone notizie dovrebbero essere esaminate e
messe in discussione.
Le cattive notizie dovrebbero essere ben accette.
Dobbiamo imparare a "mettere in discussionele
buone notizie e ad accogliere le cattive"."

“[…] rushing to meet deadlines is associated with
unethical decision-making,
whereas taking time to assess alternatives is
associated with more ethical decisions.”
DEADLINES & ETHICAL DECISIONS

SOURCE: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/cognitive-bias-infographic.html
• Less Is better effect
• Belief Bias
• Ambiguity Bias
• System justification
• Zero-risk bias
• Social-desirability bias
• Loss aversion
• Pseudo-certainty bias
• Illusory superiority
• Illusion of control
• Hard-easy effect
• Overconfidence effect
"WE NEED TO ACT FAST" Biases

Review/recensione
https://www.exlibris20.it/the-leadership-lab-di-chris-lewis-e-pippa-malmgren/
WE WANT IT NOW!

NEW
PRODUCT
Time
3 Anni/Years
(hardware/design)
NEW COMBINATIONSof EXHISTING
MATERIALS & TECHNOLOGIES
Time
3 Lustri/Lustres
(hardware/process)
TOTALLY NEW
MATERIALS & TECHNOLOGIES
Time
3 Decenni/Decades
(hardware/materials)
La relativitàdel NOW – digital vs. physical
The nuances of NOW - digital vs. physical
APP
Time
3 Mesi/Months
(digital/software)

"It takes 1,5+ years to create an exact
copy of Pokémon Go. Yes, it's not a quick
process."
“Feature-rich highly complex apps” such
as Instagram and Uber take anywhere
from 4.5 to 5.5 months to develop
SOURCE: https://www.goodfirms.co/blog/infographics-mobile-app-development-
cost
APPLICATION/digitaltime - (Mesi/Months)

NOVEMBER2018 07:00 AM
Lego has introduced its first sustainable elements
but has a long way to go
before the other 98 percent of the line meets that goal.
SOURCE: https://www.wired.com/story/lego-sustainable-bricks/
1
AUGUST 2019 03:01 AM
The toy company has partnered with a logistics company to collect, wash,
and redistribute used Lego pieces as part of its sustainability goal.
SOURCE:https://www.wired.com/story/lego-bricks-donate/
2
JUNE 2021 17.49BST
Legohopestoinclude the piecesinsetswithin twoyears.
3
SOURCE:https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand
style/2021/jun/23/lego-develops-first-bricks-
made-of-recycled-plastic-bottles
2018, 2019, 2021 + 2 more years
ALTERNATIVE MATERIAL – physicaltime (anni/years)

SOURCE: https://time.com/collection/best-inventions-2021/6113130/lego-recycled-bricks/
NOVEMBER 2021

“For you people, innovation is all that.
For us, it’s extra work with no results or
—much worse — lost jobs.”
SOURCE: https://hbr.org/2020/02/stop-calling-it-innovation
"Whether in the classroom, the newsroom, or
the boardroom, innovation is our global darling."
There is only one problem:
"We might love innovation.
But most of our employees hate it."
INNOVATION IS A TOUGH JOB, IT ASKS FOR EXTRA WORK

SOURCE: https://www.derekchristensen.com/the-ten-faces-of-innovation-one-pager/
ROLES PLAYED for INNOVATION

OBSERVING - QUESTIONING - EXPERIMENTING
ACTIONS NUDGING INNOVATION

SOME INNOVATION FEELINGS

“The purpose of innovation is to provide optionality”
It is not made to answer the call of “we demand results, now!”
Rather, innovating is investingin options, in future potential.
SOURCE: - https://movestheneedle.com/lean-innovation/identify-justify-roi-innovation/?
FORNIRE OPZIONI
PROVIDE OPTIONS

“LEGO has unveiledits firstbricks made from recycled plastic bottles and revealed that it hopes
to include the pieces in sets within two years.”
“The process will be tested and developed further before the toymaker decides whether to move
to the pilot productionphase. The next part of testing is expected to take at least a year.”
“Lego has more than 150 people working on making its productsmore sustainable”
“The prototype 4x2 bricks have been made from PET plastic from discarded bottleswith additivesto give
them the strength […] are the result of three years of experimentswith 250 variationsof materials.”
“[…] would invest up to $400m (£286m) over three years in achieving that aim [making
its products more sustainable]”
SOURCE: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jun/23/lego-develops-first-bricks-made-of-recycled-plastic-bottles
250 VARIANTI MATERIALI
250 VARIATIONS OF MATERIALS

"Waste/Rifiuti"
RIVISITAZIONE ALESSIO CUCCU
SOURCE: ESCAPE VELOCITY – Geoffrey Moore
RETURNON INNOVATION
REGRET AVERSION BIAS
"An investoris said to be suffering from regret
aversionbias when he/she refuses to make any
decision because of the fear that the decision will
turn out to be wrong and then may laterlead to
feelings of regret.
The emotionalprocess behindthis pretty simple.
Regret causes emotional pain.
Hence, the brain tries to avoid makingdecisions
that cause regret."
SOURCE: https://www.managementstudyguide.com/regret-aversion-bias.htm
ROI & RAB

[A constraint is a] "a limitation or defining parameter, often
the stimulus to find a better way of doing something."
A Beautiful Constraint – A. Morgan & M. Barden
204. Constraints Create the Possibility of Art
"It's tempting to rail against the boundaries... there isn't
enough time, … enough bandwidth, ...enough money.
But without constraints, we're left with no tension and
no chance for innovation or surprise.
All creative work has constraints, because all creativity is
based on using existing constraints to find new solutions."
The Practice – Seth Godin
IL VALORE DEI LIMITI/THE VALUE OF CONSTRAINTS

Il TRASFORMATORE/THE TRANSFORMER

Lo sforzo "ginormous"/ The "ginormous" effort

$500 fully subsidized with a plan! I said that is the most
expensive phone in the world and it doesn’t appeal to
businesscustomersbecause it doesn’t have a keyboard,
which makes it not a very good email machine….
Right now we’re selling millionsand millionsand millions
of phones a year, Apple is selling zerophones a year. In
six months, they’ll have the most expensive phone by far
ever in the marketplace and let’ssee…what’sthe
expression? Let’s see how the competitiongoes.”
2007 -Steve Ballmer – former CEOMicrosoft
PRINCIPICO DI INERZIA
INERTIA: the tendency to resist changes

CHANGES HAPPEN FAST
SOURCE: https://www.gizbot.com/mobile/features/top-100-best-selling-mobile-phones-from-last-20-years-news-1992-2015/articlecontent-pf51382-031151.html
2010
2007
40 million sold
15 million sold 15 million sold 15 million sold 15 million sold
12 million sold 8 million sold 20 million sold 8 million sold

• Functional Fixedeness
• Authority Bias
• Reactive Devaluation
• Not Invented here
SOURCE: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/cognitive-bias-infographic.html
"NOT ENOUGH MEANING" Biases

SOURCE: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CQg6WhVn3iu/?utm_medium=share_sheet
“we see a very very common mistake
where a visionary founder
promote their CFO or COO
[…] and we see that all the time”
VISIONARY and OPERATOR

1980: Ballmer joined Microsoft and became Microsoft's 30th employee,
the first business manager hired by Gates.
From 1992 onwards, he was Executive Vice President,Sales,and Support.
January 13, 2000, Ballmer was officially named the Chief Executive Officer.

QUESTION to the CEO:
"Who should we replace you
with?"
REPLY from the CEO:
"You have to put my
COO or CFO
in my job because... "
SOURCE: Simon Sinek - https://www.instagram.com/tv/CQg6WhVn3iu/?utm_medium=share_sheet

"… I trust them more than anybody"
(TRUE)
"… I could not have done it without them"
(TRUE)
"… they know more about
the workings of the company than I do"
(TRUE)

“ … except
it’s
the WRONG
skillset”

SOURCE: https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-satya-nadella-
nonviolent-communication-2018-10?r=US&IR=T
"Words matter. Find common
ground with anyone, anywhere, at
any time, both personally and
professionally."
Nonviolent Communication
A languge of Life
Marshall B. Rosenberg, PhD
EMPATHY for CHANGE

SOURCE: THE ECONOMIST, OCTOBER 2020

KINDNESS for Change
"Systemic change requires disruption. I've come to see that
kindness can be more disruptive than aggression, that
compassion can be more impactful than taking position. I've
learned to plant seeds, and not to worry about which ones live
and which ones die. That is the nature of complex change."
"Catastrophe and Systemic Change"
Gill Kernick

"We basically have three choices:
Mitigation, adaptation, and suffering
John Holdren
Chief Science Advisor Obama's Presidency
UN climate meeting 2007
CLIMATE CHANGE

@SecondHomeLondon 2019
“Solo ai margini di un ecosistema, là nei cerchi esterni, l'evoluzionee
l'adattamento avvengono aun ritmo furioso; la parte centrale,
invece, quellainterna del sistema è dove muoiono le specie
"trincerate",quelle che non si adattanoe che sono condannateal
fallimentoper mantenere lo status quo.
Un'impresa attraversa gli stessicicli"
89
SUSTAINABILITY VISION

SOURCE: https://medium.com/climate-conscious/what-makes-patagonia-a-world-leader-in-sustainability-
486073f0daa
PLANET CARING

5 Rs – REDUCE, REPAIR, REUSE, RECYCLE, REIMAGINE

"100%Today[BlackFriday2022],
1% Every Day"
SOURCE: https://www.patagonia.com/stories/record-breaking-black-friday-sales-to-benefit-the-planet/story-31140.html
1% for the Planet

PATAGONIA ACTION WORKS, BROADWAY MARKET, LONDON - 2019

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
SOURCE: https://sdgs.un.org/goals

SOURCE: "Principles for Purposeful Business - Howto deliver the framework for the Future of the Corporation - An agenda for business in
the 2020s and beyond"
SOURCE:TRUVALUE Labs
SDGs PRIORITY

PEOPLE
Society
PROFIT
Economy
PLANET
Environment
Triple Bottomline - John Elkington - 1994
SOURCE: https://hbr.org/2018/06/25-years-ago-i-coined-the-phrase-triple-bottom-line-heres-why-im-giving-up-on-it

SOURCE: https://www.circle-economy.com/resources/circularity-gap-report-2021
RESOURCES & EMISSIONS – ECONOMY – SOCIETAL NEEDS

SOURCE: https://www.circle-economy.com/
CIRCULAR ECONOMY %

SOURCE: https://youtu.be/yAvkM7B7BBs
CIRCULAR DESIGN

“Choose the right materials for your new circular design.”
CIRCULAR ECONOMY – Butterfly diagram

STRUCTURE
SUBSTANCE
TIME
SPACE
ENERGY
INFORMATION
Substance/Sostanza
Energy/Energia
Structure/Struttura
Time/Tempo
Space/Spazio
Information/Informazioni
Derivato da / build
TECHNOLOGY
BIOLOGY
Domain of solutions
Dominio delle soluzioni
BIOLOGY vs. TECHNOLOGY

SOURCE: https://www.parley.tv/updates/2019/4/17/the-next-step
Each component is made
from 100% reusable
Thermoplastic
polyurethane (TPU)
FUTURECRAFT LOOP
TECHNOLOGY – MONO-MATERIAL

SOURCE:Central Saint Martins School London - exhibition 2019
BIOLOGY – GROWN MATERIAL

SOURCE: https://www.genomatica.com/bio-nylon-scaling-50x-to-support-global-brands/
BIO-NYLON

Mushroom houses
The Observer Winter 2020

SOURCE: WEF - Wordl Economic Forum – 19 Marzo 2021

RENEWABLE & NON RENEWABLE MATTER
RENEWABLE
Materie rinnovabili
NON RENEWABLE
Materie non rinnovabili

NON RENEWABLE DEPENDENCE
The dependence on nonrenewable materials
increased over time, rising to 96% today"
Materials and the Environment - Michael Ashby

SMALTIMENTO/
DISPOSAL
UTILIZZO/
USE
TRASPORTO/
TRANSPORT
PRODUZIONE/
PRODUCTION
MATERIALI/
MATERIALS
INPUT
PRODOTTO/PRODUCT
(OUTPUT)
CLIENTE/CUSTOMER
B2B - B2C
END of LIFE
RICICLO/RECYCLE
DISCARICA/LANDFILL (LOSS)
INCENERITORE/INCINERATOR (ENERGY PRODUCTION)
COMPOSTAGGIO/BIOMASS (ENERGY+COMPOST)
LIFE CYCLE of MATERIALS

SOURCE: D2.3: Review of material and manufacturing process selection criteria
PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE EVALUATION
LCA vs ECO AUDIT

What does sustainability
mean to you?
SOURCE: https://www.overstory.eco/
CARBON FOOTPRINT OF EVERYTHING

photo
by.
Alessio
Cuccu
photo
by.
Alessio
Cuccu
photo
by.
Alessio
Cuccu

Sustainable innovation - Women, Design and Materials

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